Peripheral T-cell lymphocytosis is a condition rarely associated
with malignant thymomas. When this occurs, a differential
diagnosis should be carried out between ‘lymphocyte spillover’
from the thymus into the peripheral blood and an associated
T-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia [1]. The etiology of this
phenomenon is uncertain and may reflect the perturbation of
systemic immunoregulation that accompanies some thymic
neoplasia [2].
We describe a new case of a metastastic lymphocyte-rich
thymoma and T-cell lymphocytosis not responding to
antitumour therapy.
